Reforms at TVETs will boost growth aspirations.

Kenya’s higher education, science and technology sector is
set for major reforms aimed at promoting a knowledge-based economy to improve
national prosperity and global competitiveness.

This would involve interaction of institutions and processes
to enable the generation and conversion of knowledge into goods, processes and
services.

The move by the government to ensure trainers at Technical
and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions join the public
service is aimed at boosting their performance and make the sector attractive.

The scheme, which is undergoing the final review by the
Public Service Commission, will see the technical training tutors leave the
Teachers Service Commission.

In the new system, TVET trainers will have their own terms
of service unlike in the past when they were lumped together with primary and
secondary school colleagues.

Technical education training would also not be assessed in
the same way as formal education, with teaching skewed towards competence
rather than on theory.

The latest developments come in the wake of the government’s
recent move to establish TVET Authority to manage technical training
institutions as part of the efforts to reposition technical and vocational
education.

The renewed focus on vocational and technical education is
one of the strategies aimed at addressing youth unemployment.

Building quality institutions that would develop the
required manpower to enhance the capacity of Kenyan youths to contribute to the
expansion of the economy is a move in the right direction.

This goal of equipping the youth with relevant skills is
being pursued through a two-pronged approach, the first being the requirement
that all secondary schools must have skills acquisition content introduced in
their curricula.

The second approach is what used to be called village
polytechnics will be renamed vocational training centres whose personnel must
have been trained at the Technical Training Centre in Nairobi.

There is no doubt that this level of commitment and
investment in the technical education has never been witnessed in Kenya before.

The current shortage of artisans, plumbers and technologists
is due to failure by previous governments to prioritise the development of
technical education.

But with more emphasis on technical education, youths are
going to get the right type of training that would empower them to become job
creators and active players in the economy.

What the government is doing is to redefine education and
give the youths the knowledge and skills to effectively compete and face the
challenges in the job market.

Currently, many youths complain of lack of employment
opportunities, even though majority of them lack the relevant skills.

Meanwhile, the proposal that students joining technical
training institutions will have an option of taking subjects related to their
careers is also a step in the right direction.

This is aimed at ensuring that students exploit their talents
and attain specialisation in their areas.

Once this is fully effected, students wishing to join
technical training institutes would have a curriculum that is flexible and
learner-friendly.

It would be tailored to offer functional subjects and will
be simplified to meet learners’ needs.

This basically aims at offering skills that are important
for day-to-day life and work as opposed to expansive and complex content that
may not add value to learners’ lives.

The system has proved successful in both developed and
developing countries where students specialise as early as possible to prepare
for careers of choice. In some countries, students start specialisation in
secondary school.

By the time they join university or technical institutes,
the students emphasise on research work and less on class work because they are
already equipped with the knowledge about their respective careers.

The renewed focus on vocational and technical education by
the government is one of the best strategies in making the sector attractive to
Kenyans besides meeting the needs of the youth in the job market.